Innovation: Radioactive links

Mobile telecommunications systems developed by the European Space Agency are keeping track of nuclear waste moving between five power stations and six storage sites in the Ukraine.

In a pilot project, two lorries moving waste were fitted with mobile terminals to transmit data on radiation levels and location, via satellite, to an emergency control centre. The ability to monitor waste on the road in an area where there are no land-based mobile communications will be vital in shutting down the damaged Chernobyl nuclear reactor, as this will involve transporting large volumes of radioactive material.